"It's amazing what he's done" – Andy Farrell full of praise for Tom O'Toole after first Six Nations start

Following his performance against Wales, Ireland head coach Andy Farrell was full of praise for the Ireland prop on his first Six Nations start. During Friday night's clash, Ireland's scrum was significantly improved with an 80% scrum win rate. O'Toole also had a turnover on the night.

"It's amazing what he's done. I mean, I don't think anyone could underestimate that fact. It's somewhat more difficult than what people would think. But what's been really impressive is how he committed to it. How he committed to not having any excuses. It's very easy to do that, isn't it? You know what I mean? When you say, well, that's not the position that I've been playing."

"Everyone knows how difficult it is to switch, but he committed to it. And we've seen that type of scrummage in performance in training. He got us a few bounties on the back of that."

Ahead of the tournament, Ireland were dealt an early blow with starting loosehead Andrew Porter being ruled out through injury. Paddy McCarthy, Jack Boyle, and were all also ruled out for the tournament, with Munster's Jeremy Loughman being the most recent casualty at the position.

"The dynamics are going to keep unfolding in front of our face but you know you've got Ports who can play both sides, you've got Tom O'Toole who can do that and you've got all the young kids there at loosehead who are going to be competing."

"When we do get them all back, I mean, it's been a nightmare, hasn't it, as far as that type of position is concerned, but when they all do come back, it's going to be massive for us."

Despite avoiding the term rotation in the buildup to the game, the Ireland head coach made a number of changes to the team that dominated England at Twickenham. With James Lowe out through injury, Jacob Stockdale came in, with Jack Conan also returning to the lineup following an injury, with a player of the match performance. Ulster's Nick Timoney and Ronan Kelleher also came into the side.

With Munster's Jeremy Loughman and regular Ireland starting hooker Dan Sheehan potentially coming back in, Farrell will have a number of decisions to make for Saturday's triple crown decider against Scotland.

"We'll look at the opposition tomorrow and get a look at that, and then see who turns up in good form as far as health is concerned, and we'll make the decisions from there. We're still trying to give him (Jeremy Loughman) a few days to see how he will come back in on Monday morning."

Over the last 9 years, Ireland have won their last 11 games against Scotland. This run dates back to February of 2017. Despite that, the Ireland head coach believes that this record is largely irrelevant. Ireland will meet Scotland at the Aviva Stadium this weekend, with the Triple Crown and potentially the championship on the line.

"It becomes irrelevant when next week comes around," Farrell stated earlier in the interview. "Yeah, the record doesn't even come into it because it's a proper Test match and a good week to get excited. It's huge. It means a lot to us. It certainly does. But it's also going to mean a lot to them as well. "

"I think they're a great side, I think they're a talented side, I think they're well coached. They've had some big wins. I don't know how it's going to go tomorrow, but they've put it to France time and time again before, which shows the character that's in them. So we're expecting a massive game next weekend."

Despite his lack of experience at the position, O'Toole delivered a performance that has one foot in the door to start against Scotland next week. With Ireland's scrum looking extremely solid, the starting loosehead also completed 10 tackles, the most out of any of the starting forward pack over Ronan Kelleher and Tadhg Furlong.

"The last time I start at loosehead was against Benetton last season. Started the game at tighthead and moved over to loosehead when Scott Wilson came on. That was my last exposure at loosehead with Ulster. But, kind of consistently been working at that over the last couple of years."

"It's something that when I got the taste of it with Ireland against Fiji, it's something I had in the back of my mind that I'll just keep chipping away with it and just keep it in the back locker. So I'm glad I've done that work over the last couple years because I've obviously been given an opportunity now."

During his meeting with the media on Friday night, the Ireland head coach addressed the importance of having a player who can play at both tighthead and loosehead in planning for the 2027 World Cup squad. With that being said, should he continue his current run of form, O'Toole will surely find himself in the reckoning to be on the plane to Australia.

"I had the kind of belief in myself that I could do it, and the right people around me had belief in me as well. It was certainly pleasing to get that confidence from the head coach and from John Fogarty as well. Hopefully it puts me in a good place that when they're looking at me, they know I can cover both sides which is pleasing."

Andy Farrell: He's trained there for us before, but to be in at the deep end and start, I'm sure that he and John Fogarty wouldn't have thought so six months ago that he'd be starting at loose-head in a Test match. But I think that's a fantastic story for us going forward. Yeah, it's huge (World Cup squad selection)"

Ahead of Saturday's clash at the Aviva Stadium, Farrell will meet with the media on Thursday when Ireland's squad is named for the Triple rCown clash. With his most recent comments, it can be expected that the Ulster prop will feature somewhere, competing with Loughman for the starting role.